10 Hard Rock Albums Everyone Takes For Granted

10. Secret Treaties - Blue Oyster Cult

When talking about the harsher side of the rock spectrum, it's nearly impossible not to bring up Black Sabbath in some capacity. Off the strength of Tony Iommi's guitar alone, the omnipresence of songs like Iron Man and War Pigs showcase a muscly side of metal that we will probably never see again. As singular as they were in their construction, America did at least have an answer to Sabbath in Blue Oyster Cult.

While something like Secret Treaties isn't nearly as spooky as something like Master of Reality from around the same time, the strange aura that BOC cultivated with this album was a welcome change of pace from the typical rock and roll of the time. Rather than bludgeon you over the head with riffs, there's almost a gothic tinge to the riffs on here, along with sprinkling in bits and pieces of psychedelia left over from the '60s.

Across songs like Dominance and Submission and Astronomy, BOC give a masterclass on how to take your audience on a journey, as one guitar layers across the other to create an almighty wall of heaviness whenever you throw it on. The important folks were paying attention though, with Metallica covering Astronomy later down the line. For as metal adjacent as their sound was at the best of times, Secret Treaties is a fresh look at darkness from Sabbath's American cousins.